


Things Left Unspoken

by halfbakedwords



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, T rated for now but might go up eventually?? no idea, because intense irl stuff, collection of sheithy ficlets, don't expect a lot of plot, idk if this counts as slow burn but probably a little, mutual pining??, please be respectful thanksmuch, vague office au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 11:04:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14134767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfbakedwords/pseuds/halfbakedwords
Summary: Personal IRL struggles always make for good writing material it seems. A collection of Sheithy ficlets set in an office AU. Updates sporadic and probably infrequent but I'll try.





	Things Left Unspoken

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the summary, there’s a lot of stuff I’ve been going through irl, and I needed an outlet for the intense feels and sorting through my thoughts. Andd this collection of Sheith ficlets was born. Since I’m drawing some stuff from real life, I apologize in advance for any OOCness, though I tried to keep everyone as in character as possible. This is definitely an AU without much plot, for the sake of me being able to more freely weave in my life details into the VLDverse. This will be a collection of ficlets of sorts. Also expect a lot of experimentation re: writing form. Pleasepleaseplease be gentle and respectful, as a lot of this is very personal. If you don’t like it, don’t read it! And thanks for bearing with me as I get this off my chest in a Sheithy manner <3

He should have seen it coming.  
He just didn’t want to face the truth.  
The fact that maybe this wasn’t going to work out.  
That maybe this was doomed from the start.  
That he...

That he might not be good enough.  
Never was.  
Never will be.

Keith felt sick. He’d woken up numb, his head a warfield of thoughts. He craved distraction, support, just something. Anything. He fumbled around blindly for his phone to check the time. 

**9:33**

His normal commute to the office sans delays usually took about an hour, and by this point, he was already late by more than half an hour.  

**Message from Shiro, 6 min ago**

Keith smiled weakly. In all their years of knowing each other, Shiro always seemed to have the best timing. He rolled onto his side and unlocked his phone blearily to read the full text. 

<< FYI, Iverson’s on the prowl.

>> Haven’t gotten up yet. Not sure if it’s even worth it at this point.

>> Not sure I want to be alone though.

He’d hesitated with the last sentence, hating himself for being so desperate for attention.

<< Did something happen with Sophie?

...

>> Perceptive as always.

<< Is everything ok?

...

...

<< Don’t do anything reckless.

<< Remember our promise, Keith. 

...

<< Keith.

It wouldn’t matter either way, he almost wanted to say. Instead he opted for a simple,

>> Okay.

<< Promise me.

>> Do I really have that bad a track record?

>> Don’t answer that.

College felt like eons ago, when really it had only been a number of years. It was not...a particularly good time and there were many times...many, when he thought 

It’d be so easy.

They met freshman year. Shiro was a friend of his roommate at the time, and a fourth-year, though nowhere close to graduating due to having switched majors, not to mention having decided to also double-major. Long story short, Keith’s life would have been a lot different had they not met. They stayed close until Shiro finally graduated and subsequently landed a job across the country, which upon learning, 

Keith   
was   
absolutely   
crushed.

Which is why it was such a shock to learn that a Takashi Shirogane had accepted the latest job opening at his office, two years later. It had to be him right? He couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around how that even happened. Not that he was complaining, but seriously?? If this wasn’t fate, he didn’t know what the hell was. He’d originally taken up this job to help meet the bills, and even considered quitting soon, but now?

<< Fine, I promise.

>> Good. 

>> Speaking of Iverson, I’m needed. Talk again in a bit.

>> Don’t push yourself if you don’t feel you can make it in. But it might be good to be around people. 

>> I’m always here if you need a friend. Don’t forget that either.

His fingers paused over the keyboard. _Why do you even care so much? Why me?_ He wanted to say.

<< Thanks.

Keith stared at the ceiling until his breathing slowed almost to a standstill. He knew the thing with Sophie was never going to work out. He shouldn’t have fooled himself. He should have just faced the truth.  

That he was simply trying to fill the hole left by Shiro during those two years.

Which made him feel even more like dirt. Shiro had been in a serious relationship with another guy for most of the time he’d known him. It was one of the reasons Shiro moved across the country, and the main reason Keith fell out of touch with Shiro during his absence. It was petty. He knew. But he had developed such a strong attachment to Shiro, the person who had seen him through his darkest moments, 

and stayed. 

Until he didn’t. 

No, Shiro had the right to his own life. He landed an awesome job out east, it should’ve been cause for celebration. But it stung. Stung a lot. That he was moving out east with his boyfriend at the time. So, Keith replied less and less, out of resentment, anger at Shiro, at himself.

It was only when they reconnected at their current job, that Keith learned Shiro had broken it off with said boyfriend sometime before moving back stateside, the details of which were still sort of shrouded in mystery, but Shiro hadn’t spoken much further on the subject, and so Keith decided not to pry any further.  

He also found that Shiro hadn’t changed, at least with regards to their interactions, treating him as though no distance came between them, as though two years of radio silence didn’t exist. Treating him like the friend he always believed Keith to be. But he didn’t deserve any of it. It was scary how much he believed that to be true. How much he believed he didn’t deserve any of the goodness in the world. At all. And then he realized.

He needed to see Shiro. If he didn’t, 

He may not be able to keep his promise.

Keith threw on an easy outfit with his go-to red jacket, pocketed a few other essentials into his backpack before leaving his apartment for the train station. By the time the correct train arrived, it was well past rush hour, so each car was sparsely populated. Good. He sank into a row of seats toward the end of the train and drowned his thoughts with his headphones for the next hour.

Once he arrived at the office,

>> I’m here. 

I need to talk to you. I need to see you. I need—

>> You busy?

<< Just running around being a sweaty mess. Prep for the big party and all.

>> Right. 

<< You hanging in there?

>> Maybe.

<< I’ll come find you in a little bit.

>> You’re too busy being a sweaty mess though, remember?

<< I’ll make time. 

Keith gripped his phone tight, focusing on its weight in his grasp, a physical tether. Obviously there was no point in going to his desk, or even attempting to do any work. He didn’t want to run into _anyone_.

Roof.

He was beginning to feel just a bit lightheaded, not having eaten since early the previous day, so the chill of the outside air was a welcomed distraction. He breathed in the heavy city air deep. Deep enough until his lungs were tingling. Deep enough to feel its bite on his inner organs. Deep enough until maybe he could expel all the twistedness in him out with his next breath.

But as much as he could try to relax his mind, it was never that easy to quiet your inner demons. 

 _You don’t deserve a person like Shiro in your life._  
**I know I don’t.**  
_Sophie could have been so good for you, but even that you fucked up._  
**I know.**  
_She left you, just like Shiro did. Just like—_  
**I KNOW.**  
_Because you’re nothing. And you’ll never be more than nothing._  
**I KNOW already so just SHUT—**  

A strong but gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“Hey.”

Keith didn’t mean to flinch so sharply at the touch but the shock back to reality was jarring, having lost sight of it in the midst of his inner dialogue.

“Hey, hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I just...I called out to you and you didn’t respond. I figured you probably spaced out.”

“Right. Yeah, it’s okay.”

Shiro leaned against the short wall surrounding the edges of the rooftop, while Keith stared distantly off into the horizon.

“Wanna talk about it?”

No. Yes.

“She...um.” He took a breath. “It’s over.”

“Ah man, I’m really sorry, Keith.”

“No, it’s fine.” Another breath. “I just wasn’t good enough for her, just like I wasn’t...just like I’m not good enough for...” 

You. 

“Keith...” 

Shiro didn’t know that he wasn’t that torn up about the breakup. Or that the relationship with Sophie was borne out of an attempt to move on with his life after Shiro left. No idea that Keith really, genuinely did like Sophie, but in the end, she was perfect in every way except for one. 

“You don’t need to be anything more than yourself.” Shiro started, his tone firm, slightly pained. “People who don’t accept you for who you are, aren’t worth your time and energy.”

“Keith.” The man closed the space between them, placing a hand on his bicep, squeezing in reassurance. 

“You’ve always been good enough.”

Crap. Crapcrapcrap. It was useless now. His throat burned, tears already starting to spill. He wanted—needed to hear that for 

so   
so   
long. 

And for it to come from the one person he _needed_ it to come from, absolutely did him in.  

Shiro immediately pulled Keith against his own body, supporting him, grounding him, again, like he always used to, still could. The man’s heart beat rhythmically, almost soothing him into a calmer state of being. Keith felt a surge of pride course through him at the thought of being one of the numbered few given the privilege of such proximity. But the feeling was quickly stamped by the subsequent thought and reminder that Shiro just came off a deep relationship with a guy that likely got closer than he ever managed to, or ever could, even. 

Keith wrapped a hand tight over his mouth, a feeble action that did nothing to contain his breakdown as another wave of emotions barrelled over him. 

And they stood just like that, for a 

long   
w  
o  
r  
d  
l  
e  
s  
s  
minute.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Shiro finally said. 

At that, Keith let out a hollow laugh, and very reluctantly pulled out of the embrace. He could’ve stayed there for much, much longer than was socially acceptable, neatly tucked under Shiro’s chin, soaking in that scent of his that was enough to intoxicate, circles being rubbed into the small of his back. 

He was so frustratingly frustrated with himself for even allowing Shiro back into his life so easily. Oh how hard he tried to move on. And now here he was, back again, dissolving back into place as if nothing had changed. Being able to have this, have Shiro again in his life like before, was all he wanted for those two long years but he also wanted so badly to still be angry. He wanted so badly to keep his distance, to not let his guard down, and not let history repeat itself. But he couldn’t...just couldn’t. 

Not when Shiro was somehow, miraculously brought to his literal doorstep.   
Not when he longed so much, to return to a time that he thought could no longer exist.   
Not when Shiro was this close. 

And so all his anger became redirected, internalized.   
It’s me, it’s always been me.  

“It’s gonna be okay. You’ll find someone better.” Shiro tried to reassure him. “Sophie didn’t see in you what I see.” 

“What...” Keith started, tentative, looking off the roof, away into the distance and away from Shiro’s gaze. “What **_do_** you see in me, Shiro? Why are you so nice to me?”

He was fishing now, letting his words flow unflitered, dangerous territory. He again, added a hasty, “No, don’t answer that.”

But Shiro was determined to say his piece. “Keith, listen to me. You’ve got it backwards. I’m not nice to you because I’m being forced to. I care about you, and...and I see the good in you that you can’t see for yourself. I’m sorry if things got weird between us during those couple of years...”

 _You’ve_ got it backwards. It was never your fault to begin with. You have nothing to be sorry about. 

“But...I’m really glad I came back.” And then Shiro gave him the gentlest, warmest smile he’s ever had the good graces to be on the receiving end of. “I’ve missed this.”

He’d already cried once today, damnit. Keith swiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and hoped the expression in his own face was enough to convey to Shiro all the emotions he ever wanted to, past, present or future.

“Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter was probably the most “plot” driven of the series, the rest are probably going to be more snippets of their daily life in this office that has no name or purpose?? Maybe I’ll flesh out what the office actually is...for now, tis unimportant :)
> 
> I is on the [tumblr](https://semibakedwords.tumblr.com)!


End file.
